Researchers have developed a computer game and smartphone app to help people control unhealthy eating habits and ultimately lose weight.
Researchers have developed a computer game and smartphone app to help people control unhealthy eating habits and ultimately lose weight.
The game is designed to improve a person’s “inhibitory control,” the part of the brain that stops you from giving into unhealthy cravings, even when the smell of French fries is practically begging you to step inside a fast food joint.
They also developed a mobile app that intelligently detects patterns in a person’s eating habits. When users are likely to slip from their dietary plans, the app provides tailored strategies to put them back on track.
“Let’s say a colleague brings a box of doughnuts into the office. For a person who habitually consumes sweets, the first reaction is, ‘I want one’,” said Evan Forman from Drexel University in the US.
The secondary response tries to pump the brakes on that urge. But that reaction is typically slower and less strong than impulse, according to Forman.
“However, studies have shown that if you do certain tasks that involve this inhibitory control over and over again, it actually gets stronger,” he said.
Researchers recently tested this theory.
